


losing herself, gambling

by nanasse



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Dangan Ronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc
Genre: F/F, Lesbians!, Smut, Spoilers, Unhappy Ending, kind of? but like you knew what was coming in the game, kyoko asks celeste to stop but like they're both cool about it, naegi makoto is mentioned for like 2 seconds
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-06
Updated: 2020-08-06
Packaged: 2021-03-05 21:47:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,918
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25742311
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nanasse/pseuds/nanasse
Summary: Kyoko doesn’t expect anyone to come knocking on her door after Monokuma makes his evening announcement, after everyone collectively agreed to enforce the nighttime rule. In particular, she doesn’t expect the person who proposed said rule to be the one knocking.But Celeste does visit her. Multiple times. Kyoko is determined to break down her mask, to see the true intentions behind the Ultimate Gambler. And in the room without surveillance, Celeste provides a perfect opportunity for Kyoko to do so.
Relationships: Kirigiri Kyoko/Celestia Ludenberg
Comments: 7
Kudos: 64





	losing herself, gambling

**Author's Note:**

> not sure why I wrote this? honestly kyoko deserves a stable and loving relationship which makoto can 100% give her, but like? I haven't so much as held a girl's hand since march and I think it's getting to me

Kyoko doesn’t expect anyone to come knocking on her door after Monokuma makes his evening announcement, after everyone collectively agreed to enforce the nighttime rule. In particular, she doesn’t expect the person who proposed said rule to be the one knocking.

But of course, Kyoko had been up anyway, investigating the panels covering her windows to see if anything could be discerned from them. She hadn’t found anything.

Figuring she doesn’t have anything to lose, she opens her door carefully to find Celeste, small smile in place, framed by the red light of the hallway behind her. Kyoko gives her a once over, taking in the details of her apparel — the lace linings of her blouse, the little bows on her sleeves that fall just short of her elbows. She returns her gaze to Celeste’s face, and Celeste gives a soft, airy sigh. Her smile doesn’t break. Kyoko doesn’t think she’s seen it break the entire time she’s been here. 

“May I come in?” Celeste asks, lilted, filling the silence between them. 

Kyoko narrows her eyes, trying to read the subtleties of Celeste’s face, trying to discern her true intentions through the cracks that form when she holds that smile. 

Kyoko strikes out for the second time that night. Celeste is built like a textbook, unyielding and disingenuous — as expected of the Ultimate Gambler.

“Why? So you can start the killing game?” Kyoko retorts. She crosses her arms. Though, it’s less of a hostile action and more to keep herself in check. The intrigue of what Celeste could possibly want at this hour is a mystery, and a fascinating one at that.

“I assure you, that is not my intent,” Celeste says, smiling. “There are no weapons at my disposal, and I have not yet opened my sewing kit. However, if you would like to examine me to make sure, I am happy to disrobe until you are satisfied.”

“That’s not necessary,” Kyoko says, stepping back to let Celeste into the room. Celeste takes the invitation, letting out a small laugh, and Kyoko closes the door behind her.

In the unlikely circumstance that Celeste does try to attack her, Kyoko reasons that she would be able to hold her own. She looks down on Celeste ever so slightly, and from the back, it becomes evident how slender her frame is. Her hands echo the structure of her body — thin and smooth, like she hasn’t been exposed to hard work. Able to make her living only off her wits and power of manipulation.

Celeste invites herself to sit on the edge of Kyoko’s bed, crossing her ankles and laying her hands delicately in her lap. Kyoko notes she looks like she’s made of porcelain. 

By the time Kyoko makes her way over to stand before her, the smile has dropped from Celeste’s face, and she’s staring at Kyoko with an intensity that would have made any other student squirm. Kyoko tries to break through the gaze to see what’s lying behind Celeste’s eyes, but she can’t do it.

“Please, sit with me,” Celeste says, patting the space beside her. “I would just like to have a small chat with you, Miss Kirigiri, as I have found you very fascinating.”

Kyoko sits down, angling her body heavily towards Celeste to keep an eye on her. 

“In what regard?” Kyoko asks.

Celeste lifts a hand to her face, pensively, tilting her head slightly to the side. Every move she makes appears calculated, like she’s evaluated the risks of emoting.

“You are somewhat of an enigma,” Celeste says, twisting a strand of hair around her finger, “and I love a good puzzle. For example, you refuse to disclose your ultimate ability. Surely there must be a reason for this?”

Ah, Kyoko’s talent. She’d had an iteration of this conversation earlier with Makoto, though it had been filled with much more earnestness. The conversation with Celeste feels more like a business arrangement. For whatever reason, Celeste is soliciting information — Kyoko feels her hunch settle firmly into her gut.

And she can’t help but let out the smallest of laughs. Close-lipped and muted, it could easily be mistaken as a hum. But Kyoko doesn’t miss the way the side of Celeste’s eyebrow briefly quirks upward before quickly settling back into its controlled position.

“Something I said is funny?” Celeste asks. 

“I’m afraid if that’s all you came for, you’ll be leaving disappointed,” Kyoko says, challenging Celeste’s smile with one of her own. Kyoko’s eyebrows are set, heavy — she knows that whatever Celeste came here to do, she won’t be able to accomplish it. Kyoko doesn’t have any information for her. It was a strange bet to make, and one that was unlikely to pay off.

“I can’t disclose my talent because I don’t know what it is,” Kyoko continues. “I can’t remember. That’s all there is to it.”

“Mmm, but that itself is interesting, no?” Celeste quips right back.

She inches closer to Kyoko, who raises her arm instinctively to keep Celeste back. The smile is immediately back on Celeste’s face, and she puts a hand on Kyoko’s glove, pushing her arm down slowly. 

“When I first laid eyes on you, Kirigiri Kyoko, I thought perhaps we were quite similar. Now, I am less sure of myself.”

Celeste moves her face closer, her eyes never refusing to budge, and Kyoko feels her façade beginning to crumble. Her eyes dart between Celeste’s eyes, her high cheekbones, her lips, which could be painted on. Kyoko’s ultimate ability may be an enigma, but Celeste was quickly proving to be just as mysterious.

Kyoko doesn’t respond. She doesn’t have anything to say. Her brain is running through every possibility of what could have motivated Celeste to come to her room like this.

“I do hope you will share your talent with me when you are able to recall. After all, I have given you no reason to distrust me, have I?”

Celeste stands. Her fingers linger a bit too long on Kyoko’s, trailing behind her even as she heads to Kyoko’s door. Kyoko stays seated on her bed, watching Celeste leave.

“I hope you stay well tonight, and abide by our nighttime rule. Who knows what may happen if you break it?”

Celeste closes the door behind her, leaving only the memory of her calculated smile. A few minutes later, Kyoko stands to lock the door, and then falls back on her bed. She stares at the surveillance camera, her eyes falling out of focus as she begins to archive and analyze Celeste’s actions.

How interesting. The Ultimate Gambler has more to her than meets the eye.

x

Celeste comes to visit her again the night following the first class trial. It’s the second one-on-one conversation they’ve ever had. When Kyoko hears the light knocking, she suspects who it is before she even opens the door.

Celeste opens her mouth to start talking, but Kyoko has already moved aside before she can get any words out. Celeste slips back into her signature smile, strolling into Kyoko’s room. She chooses to study Kyoko’s far wall, placing one slender hand on her chin, like she’s lost in thought. Kyoko leans on her table, her arms crossed. She doesn’t buy Celeste’s act. For some reason, the other girl doesn’t want to start the conversation.

“What did you come here to talk about this time?” Kyoko prompts. Celeste’s back is towards her, her drills sticking out prominently to the side. Despite herself, Kyoko wonders what she looks like without them.

“Naegi Makoto,” Celeste says.

Kyoko feels her forehead twitch. Why would Celeste come to her room, appear as hesitant as she could appear for someone with her pokerface, and bring up Makoto? It doesn’t logically follow.

“And? What about him?”

“You care for him, no?” Celeste turns to face Kyoko, her eyebrows raised. Kyoko inhales quickly, ready to retort, but Celeste leans forward, continuing, “I overheard the conversation you had with him after Leon’s execution. You told him Sayaka died protecting him. But you have no way of knowing this.”

Kyoko lets out a huff, choosing to sit down on her bed. She lets her eyes fall closed for a moment, trying to focus on what Celeste could possibly stand to gain from this conversation.

“My theory wasn’t far-fetched,” Kyoko responds, opening her eyes again to find Celeste still looking at her curiously. “It’s entirely plausible that that’s why Sayaka did what she did.”

“But, like you mentioned, it is just a theory,” Celeste says. She comes to sit on the bed next to Kyoko. They’re both seated on the edge of the bed, closer than they were during Celeste’s previous visit.

“Why do you want to protect him?”

Celeste’s question stops Kyoko’s train of thought. Was that what she was doing? She hadn’t considered her actions towards Makoto in that light before, or her motivation for saying that to him — and she’s sure that’s what Celeste is trying to make her do, to overthink her actions. A double-bluff.

“I wouldn’t consider it protecting him,” Kyoko says, determinedly, “but don’t you think he needed reassurance, after what happened? He’s naïve enough that something like that could cause him to do something he regrets.”

Kyoko can practically see Celeste pull her words in and place them on her mental gameboard. Moving the pieces around, calculating what she’s going to say next. Celeste purses her lips, drawing attention from her large, round eyes, which narrow slightly, and then she’s back, razor focused on Kyoko.

Kyoko anticipates the next accusation to try to cut through her, but she’s not fully prepared for when Celeste says, “Would you have sex with him?” 

Kyoko’s mouth falls open, and she lets out an unintentionally strangled breath.

“I-I don’t—“

Celeste stares, waiting for her to finish. Her large doe eyes watch Kyoko innocently, like the words she just spoke never came out of her mouth. A small smile pulls up the sides of her mouth.

“No. I have … other things to do here,” Kyoko finally manages to get out. Even though the question had been completely ridiculous, Kyoko feels her face turn hot, from the implication of Celeste’s words and the continued scrutiny she finds herself under. She doesn’t appreciate how she seems to be melting directly in Celeste’s hand — though, she supposes perhaps that was the Gambler’s true intention for coming here tonight.

“I am pleased to hear you would not entertain that,” Celeste says, and then all of a sudden, she’s in Kyoko’s ear, voice almost a whisper.

“Besides, you would need to assume such a matronly role with him. Would that not be tiring? It would not be such a release while you are looking for answers in a place like this.”

Upon finishing her statement, Celeste immediately gets up and walks to Kyoko’s door. By the time Kyoko can manage to accumulate her thoughts and open her mouth, Celeste is already halfway in the hallway.

“Wait—“

“That is all. Unless you have other matters would like to discuss?”

Kyoko almost shakes her head no, as she’s already been thoroughly embarrassed, but she has too many questions — too many questions left unanswered, too many mysteries still lingering in the space between her bed and the door. She takes a moment to synthesize them all, to try to find the one question whose answer will allow her to begin to fill in the gaps.

“Are you jealous?”

Kyoko isn’t close enough to see the subtle changes in Celeste’s expression — and the other girl is poised enough that she’s able to hide them from this distance — but a small laugh seems to ripple through Celeste’s shoulders, morphing into a smile that exposes Celeste’s teeth.

“Please. I did not realize you enjoyed making jokes, Kyoko.”

The taste of her first name lies heavy in the air as Kyoko is left to her own devices to evaluate the scene that had just unfolded. Celeste’s response couldn’t be considered a tell — Kyoko is sure she’ll never be able to see Celeste’s tell — but she thinks, perhaps, if she keeps it up, she’ll be able to break Celeste, at some point. That is, if Celeste doesn’t break her first.

x

“You know, you shouldn’t keep coming to my room like this,” Kyoko says upon opening her door. Celeste gives a small laugh, pushing past her to welcome herself into Kyoko’s room.

“Oh? And why is that?”

“Someone is going to start to get suspicious,” Kyoko says, giving a pointed look in the direction of the surveillance camera. “Particularly given some of the subject matter you’ve wanted to discuss.” Celeste looks at the camera thoughtfully before turning back to Kyoko. 

“Where would you suggest we have our little chats instead?” Celeste asks, pressing closer to her. They’re both still standing near the door, and Kyoko can start to smell the sweet scent that accompanies Celeste everywhere. Kyoko knows the other girl isn’t shy about applying large amounts of whatever rose-based perfume she brought to this school, but it seems to start to wrap around Kyoko’s neck. She meets Celeste’s gaze, not wanting to back down.

“Well, there’s one room with no surveillance cameras. You must have noticed,” Kyoko says.

“Ah!” Celeste says. She takes the opportunity to clasp on to Kyoko’s hand, which, admittedly, takes Kyoko by surprise. She’s been trying harder than usual to keep her emotions under check when with Celeste, to try to match Celeste’s level of preciseness in her actions. But Kyoko knows her face has betrayed her, as opposed to Celeste’s, which hasn’t cracked at all. 

This move had been calculated — or, Celeste was truly an impenetrable force when it came to emotion. Getting to know her, it was likely both.

“Then, would you like to meet with me in that room tomorrow, Kyoko?”

x

She should have been worried about getting murdered. After all, walking in unarmed to a place with no surveillance after nighttime has fallen wasn’t exactly a logical move to make. But Kyoko has never been one to back down from mystery, and the anticipation of what might happen makes her skin feel almost electric. 

Kyoko enters the bath locker room to find Celeste is already waiting for her. Her black outer jacket has been carefully folded and laid on one of the benches, and Kyoko finds her white shirt beneath to be just as frilly and ridiculous.

“I must say, I am less than pleased with the humidity in this room,” Celeste says. She sits next to her discarded jacket, her legs crossed daintily. “All public baths have this same disgusting aura about them.”

“I assumed you weren’t the type to frequent bath houses. But in this place, if you want privacy, that’s the sacrifice you have to make.” 

Kyoko stands just inside the door. She’s apprehensive about entering farther, about breaking the distance between herself and Celeste.

“Indeed,” Celeste says, standing.

The air in the room is sweet. On the cusp of being burnt. Kyoko knows that once a crack emerges in the hard, sugared layer, it’s over — there’s no feasible way to return to the way things were.

Celeste walks over to her, slowly, and presses closer to Kyoko than she’s ever been before, one of her hands trailing down Kyoko’s arm to intertwine their fingers. Kyoko can’t feel the texture of her hand, but she imagines it must feel soft, like velvet.

“It has been a while since I’ve played a game like this,” Celeste says, and Kyoko can feel the heat from Celeste’s breath on her neck. If there’s a time to stop this, it’s now. But Kyoko doesn’t say anything.

“I’ve never lost a gamble. But you seem to have your ace hidden away somewhere. Like it is up to me to discover the hidden rules of this game. How intriguing. I have not been this excited for ages, you know.”

Celeste’s hands are surprisingly restless, trailing down Kyoko’s back, resting in the crook of her spine, sneaking down to fondle under Kyoko’s skirt. Returning back up to Kyoko’s chest, weaving in between the layers of her clothing like Kyoko is a deck of cards.

She’s fully aware of what a stupid decision this is. It was moronic of her to even have agreed to come to the bath tonight in the first place. But she supposes this was part of Celeste’s game, and Kyoko has played right into her hands.

Something inside her revolts — a small, selfish part, a pettiness Kyoko thought she had buried a long time ago. Maybe it was her hunch, deep down, of what likely happened to her absent father. Or the whispers about her and Makoto, rumors started by a bunch of teenagers with nothing better to do and no one better to see, the way Celeste had implied Kyoko had been acting when Kyoko herself wasn’t actively aware of it.

Or, maybe, it was just a gamble. A poorly placed one. But as Celeste works to remove Kyoko’s jacket, she finds their lips pressed together, and Kyoko isn’t upset at all.

God, she’s soft. Kyoko’s hands start to move as well, coming up to caress Celeste’s face. Her thumb runs down Celeste’s jawline and Kyoko notes how slim Celeste’s neck is, like it could be snapped, delicately, like a sapling.

Not that Kyoko would ever do that. Even though the opportunity would be almost perfect now — but, Kyoko knows it wouldn’t be the perfect crime, and they would find evidence of her — her DNA abundant in Celeste’s mouth. Celeste is pressing further into her, feeling Kyoko up through her blouse, and murder is the last thing on her mind. 

Kyoko finds herself pressed back into the wall of the bath house. The click of both of their heels as they move cuts through the sound of them breathing, heavy. Kyoko’s gasps in between the switching of their lips are deafening, much more affected than Celeste seems to be, and Kyoko feels herself blush. 

Her hands fall to Celeste’s waist as she tries to steady herself. This wasn’t the moment for composure, but Kyoko would like to at least maintain some of hers. Out of nowhere, Celeste’s knee is pushing her thighs apart, sliding up slowly, pinning her to the wall with a pull from her gut, and Kyoko has to bite her lip to keep any noises from escaping her.

She exhales, shakily, and opens her eyes slowly to be met with Celeste’s heavy gaze. One of her hands works to loosen Kyoko’s tie, while the other fusses to get underneath her shirt. The warm press of Celeste’s fingers on the skin of her stomach makes Kyoko shiver. She leans her head back onto the wall as Celeste offers that dangerous smile.

“What a rare sight this is,” Celeste remarks. “You seem to be coming undone.”

“We can’t all have… a pokerface like yours,” Kyoko manages to get out. Celeste giggles — tittering, devilish and composed, and Kyoko would throw away her own life to break her. To find out what lies behind the pomp and façade, to find out how much this gamble is worth. How much she could win if she could solve the mystery behind Celeste.

Kyoko reaches up to grip Celeste’s chin with a gloved hand, with enough force to hold Celeste where she wants, and presses her lips to Celeste’s again, vigorously, forcing her tongue into Celeste’s mouth. Her other hand remains firmly on Celeste’s back, pressing Celeste’s frail body to hers, unmoving. 

Kyoko calculates her moves like she’s lining up evidence, and it’s Celeste’s turn to gasp for air. She’s pushed Celeste into the role of defendant, and Celeste’s hands start to roam about Kyoko more rapidly, attempting to find leverage, a rebuttal.

She settles for biting Kyoko’s lip, and Kyoko’s eyes flutter open after they pull apart. There’s a flush on Celeste’s cheeks that could almost be endearing, and Kyoko notices something manic in Celeste’s eyes. It’s only there a moment before Celeste blinks, her eyelids lowering and replacing whatever was hidden deep down with lust, but Kyoko’s not stupid. 

Whatever is hidden within Celeste is dangerous, and Kyoko’s head starts to spin. It’s at that moment Celeste deftly slides a hand up Kyoko’s skirt, maneuvering Kyoko back under her thumb, both figuratively and literally. She can’t help the huff of air that escapes her mouth, or how the room feels like it starts to spin under her feet.

“Would you ever kill me?” someone asks, and Kyoko realizes the voice belongs to her. She doesn’t remember asking it, but something subconscious nags at the back of her mind. Why is she here? What did she come here to do?

She tries to remember, but Celeste’s hand continues to move like magic, and Kyoko’s mind is foggy. She’s merely a card in Celeste’s hand, but — her fingers are so delicate, and it makes it hard for Kyoko to focus.

“Perhaps not directly. I would… destroy you in other ways.”

Celeste’s hand trails up to the waistband of Kyoko’s underwear, teasing her, and slips underneath. It’s a shock to Kyoko’s system, and one that snaps her head back into gear. This was exactly the danger Celeste posed — a distraction, a siren to pull Kyoko from her main focus. She came to this school for a singular purpose.

Her body acts instinctively, and she grabs Celeste’s wrist, pushing her back. Celeste stumbles for a moment, bearing the burden of her own body weight once again, and then her eyes are wide on Kyoko’s, her mouth parted slightly in surprise.

Kyoko feels somewhat satisfied that she was able to throw Celeste off guard, but given the circumstances, it seems a bit cruel.

“You… do not wish to continue?” Celeste says, setting her mouth into a firm line.

“I can’t have any distractions,” Kyoko says, tugging on the cuff of one of her gloves. “An attachment to anyone would pull from my true purpose here.”

“Fine,” Celeste snaps. “You do not need—“ she grabs her jacket from the bench haphazardly, “—to tell me twice.”

Celeste doesn’t spare her a second glance as she walks briskly out of the bath. Kyoko starts to straighten her attire, pulling her shirt down and straightening her tie. Like the mastermind wouldn’t be able to guess what they had been doing in this room.

Kyoko hadn’t cared about the consequences 15 minutes ago — truly, a mistake. A gamble she had almost lost. But, most likely, she would be able to get back on track. To uncover the mysteries of this school, with no diversions, no feelings she needed to consider. She would be unimpeded in discovering what her father had been doing here.

She briefly wonders what he would have thought of her encounter, before she dismisses the thought and exits the dressing room.

x

They talk civilly, sometimes. Celeste never knocks on her door again, despite it being unlocked for several days.

But, she does see Celeste break — once, at Hifumi — and recognizes the chaos behind Celeste’s eyes.

x

During the third trial, Celeste does try to kill her. She keeps her promise. She shifts the blame, tries to misdirect the vote. Her true colors come out, for the third and final time.

Kyoko wonders if her actions might have contributed to everything. To how Celeste leaves them.

However, she never finds out. Celeste never says anything. She just hands over the locker key and leaves, leaving Kyoko to ponder one final mystery.

**Author's Note:**

> this was fully inspired by [this](https://www.tiktok.com/@bugs.com/video/6855111561141374214) one singular tiktok
> 
> harass me on [tumblr](https://nagisalt.tumblr.com/)!
> 
> anyway this was a trip to write? hope u enjoyed!


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